Revitalized Kings, Gretzky Awaiting Hawks

LOS ANGELES — The last time the Blackhawks played here they found the Los Angeles Kings, in the words of Wayne Gretzky, "in complete disarray, to say the least."

The Hawks, who thrashed the Kings 8-4 on that occasion, expect to find no such easy pickings Tuesday night when they meet a team that, if its 4-2 opening-night victory over Colorado is any indication, has been reborn under new ownership and a new coach, Larry Robinson.

"I don't think we even realized ourselves what was going on last year until it was over and we had a chance to sit back and take a look at the situation," Gretzky said.

"I'm not saying that's why we lost. I'm saying we faced a lot of unique situations over the last two seasons. When you've got six guys whose checks bounce on payday, it has an effect on the hockey team.

"We had to stabilize everything. First, the ownership needed to be straightened out. Then we needed to bring in someone who had won championships before."

The Kings' failure to make the playoffs, coupled with an enormous payroll, weren't the biggest problems the team had last season. Bruce McNall, the charismatic former owner, is headed to federal prison for falsifying bank documents, among other misdeeds, and Jeffrey Sudikoff, one of the owners who bought the team from McNall, is under federal investigation for stock irregularities. On Sept. 20, the Kings were sold by LAK Acquisition Corp. to a partnership of Denver investor Philip Anschutz and Los Angeles developer Edward Roski Jr.

The team needed some stability, and in stepped Robinson, a former Kings defenseman with championships on his resume.

Robinson not only had won championships with the Montreal Canadiens, he also had been the top assistant on last year's Cup champion New Jersey Devils and knew many of the Kings' veteran players, having finished his career here.

"Larry had a calming affect on a lot of the veterans," said Marty McSorley, who played three years with Robinson. "We'd been through an awful lot, and it reflected on the way the team played."

As bothered as anyone, McSorley said, was Gretzky, who was close to McNall and, rightly or wrongly, constantly accused of setting team policy.

"Having Larry and the new ownership, he feels so much more comfortable now," McSorley said. "He has none of the pressures. He can just play."

The league's all-time scoring leader, Gretzky is convinced that he will play much better than he did a year ago when he barely averaged a point a game. Many have wondered if his wondrous skills have vanished.

"I've given no one any reason, from the year I had last year, to say, `Look out for him this year,' " Gretzky said. "But I think I'm going to have a good year."

But he doesn't want anyone to think he can--or must--carry the Kings all by himself into the playoffs.

"I'm only 177 pounds," he said with a shy smile. "There's a lot of heavy guys in that dressing room. I like our team. We look better."

Gretzky said Robinson has given the Kings a system that suits his skills particularly well.

"It's a patient game, yet an aggressive game, a game where if you've got the puck, you do what you want with it."